Dick Vitale Says There's 1 'Lock' For National Player Of The Year
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 11: Sportscaster Dick Vitale broadcasts before a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament between the Pepperdine Waves and the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs defeated the Waves 100-74. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The 2020-21 men's college basketball season is starting to enter the home stretch. There are only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season with conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament approaching fast.
Who's your national player of the year?
According to ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, there is already one big "lock" for the prestigious award.
Vitale says that Iowa Hawkeyes star big man Luka Garza is a lock for this year's honor. The 6-foot-11 big man is averaging 24.7 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, shooting 56.3 percent from the field. The Hawkeyes are 16-6 on the season heading into a game against Penn State.
Garza, though, made it clear that winning individual awards is not his goal.
"I didn’t come back to score points. I didn’t come back to win awards," Garza said this week. "I’ve won awards — I did that last year. My main focus is winning games. There’s a lot of noise around this team. I try and stay away from it, not let it bother me, and do what I do.
"Everything will take care of itself. I just need to work hard."
Iowa is set to play Penn State on Sunday at 5 p.m. E.T.
